All the pre-marital counseling in the world can’t prepare you for the shock when you realize just how ugly you and your spouse are on the inside. It comes in that moment when you scream at him or he throws hurtful words at you. It comes again when you sit on the couch and glare at him, waiting until you get your way or when he refuses to talk to you until you apologize. I have been amazed at how deeply selfish I can be and surprised when Adrian breaks out of his usual kindness and shows me his sinfulness.


When Christ took us as His Bride, He was anything but surprised at our sinfulness. His people, His treasured possession, had rejected Him again and again. We acted as though He wasn’t good enough for us. Yet even in our state of deadness and decay, of ugliness marred by sin, Christ has loved us. He came for us. He gave up His life for us. He wasn’t surprised by our brokenness, because our brokenness was the reason He came to earth in the first place – humble and weak, ready to die for His Bride.